A Snake That Changes Color

Posted Jun 29th, 2006 at 4:43 pm in Nature

I came across this story about a new snake recently discovered in Borneo.

Researchers scouring swamps in the heart of Borneo island have discovered a venomous species of snake that can change its skin color, the conservation group WWF announced Tuesday.

The ability to change skin color is known in some reptiles, such as the chameleon, but scientists have seen it rarely with snakes and have not yet understood this phenomenon, the group said in a statement.

“I put the reddish-brown snake in a dark bucket,” said Mark Auliya, a reptile expert and a consultant for the group. “When I retrieved it a few minutes later, it was almost entirely white.”

One Response to “A Snake That Changes Color”

  1. Oh come on; nearly the exact same thing happened to me last week — I put a reddish-brown paintbrush into a dark can of lacquer thinner, and when I retrieved it a few mintues later, it was almost entirely white. Big deal! That’s not Science!

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